By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic
Photographer: Courtesy Gustavo De La Fe
Some participants from St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Southwest Ranches that will attend the National Eucharistic Congress next July in Indianapolis, Indiana.
MIAMI | This summer, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN – the site of a myriad football games, concerts and even the U.S. swimming Olympic trials – will transform yet again to host an event to transform hearts and minds: the 10th National Eucharistic Congress.
And South Florida Catholics will be there.
Photographer: Courtesy Gustavo De La Fe
Members of the youth group from St. Mark Parish in Southwest Ranches participate in Eucharistic Adoration in preparation for the National Eucharistic Congress to be held July 17-21 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
An estimated 50,000 Catholics from around the country will gather for the event, which is the culmination of a three-year National Eucharistic Revival launched in 2022 by the U.S. bishops to renew and strengthen Catholics' understanding of the Real Presence in the Eucharist.
Though Lucas Oil Stadium is the hub of the congress and the site of Masses, concerts and entertainment, the adjacent Indiana Convention Center and other nearby venues in downtown Indianapolis will also host general sessions, catechetical sessions and breakout sessions, all with the goal of enriching and forming attendees.
The event is the first such national congress in the U.S. in 83 years, and the first U.S. eucharistic conference in 48 years, since the 1976 National Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.
A CONFERENCE FOR ALL AGES
Gustavo De La Fe, youth ministry director at St. Mark Parish in Southwest Ranches, said his parish has organized travel and lodging for some 15 parishioners, including members of the youth ministry team, adult chaperones and family groups.
“The ability to take not just a small group from the parish but those representing parents and children alike is really telling of what our community is needing as parents, but also those in high school will have that [shared] encounter at that young stage of life,” De La Fe said.
Both those planning to attend and some St. Mark parishioners who will remain back home have been preparing for Indiana and the congress through a parish revival that includes monthly family eucharistic adoration night of prayer, praise and worship music, local eucharistic processions, and reflection.
Many of the teens have already experienced Eucharist-centric large gatherings through the national Life Teen Ministries and Steubenville conferences, but Indiana will represent a much larger, and hopefully impactful moment for attendees, De La Fe said.
Photographer: Courtesy Gustavo De La Fe
The faithful participate in a Eucharistic procession during the solemnity of Corpus Christi June 3, 2024, around the perimeter of St. Mark Parish in Southwest Ranches.
“Being in a stadium where massive sports and concerts are facilitated, and gathering to worship Jesus and the Eucharist will be awesome and a once in a lifetime experience,” he said, noting that the group will be sharing its experience with family and friends back home through social media, especially on Instagram.
Attendance at St. Mark Parish has been steadily growing since the 2020 church lockdowns drove many faith communities to experience significant drop offs in attendance in favor of virtual worship services. But greater depth and appreciation of the Eucharist is still needed.
“If people really understood this pillar in our faith, attendance would reflect that reality,” he said.
PREPARING FOR THE CONGRESS
A number of resources have been created to help attendees and non-attendees alike pray and prepare for this historic event. The National Eucharistic Congress, in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Augustine Institute, has released a seven-part video series to help parishes nationwide launch small group communities to grow in faith and love for the Eucharist.
In Miami, Father Jose Alfaro, pastor at St. John Neumann Parish and former seminary professor, said he was inspired by the unique nature of the upcoming event in Indiana and made plans this year for some 45 people to join him on pilgrimage. Most are adults from his parish and a few other parishes.
“When I read we haven’t had a national eucharist congress in 83 years, I thought, I wanted to be part of history,” he said, adding that he personally invited the parish’s lectors and eucharistic ministers to consider attending. Since Lent of this year, the group has been reading a Matthew Kelly book, “33 Days to Eucharistic Glory,” in preparation for the event.
“On Holy Thursday, we had a public consecration before the parish for those who are going [to the congress] — we recited a prayer and invited all the parishioners to pray for us as we journey in this pilgrimage,” Father Alfaro said.
Photographer: Courtesy Gustavo De La Fe
Father Dariel Fong (right), parochial vicar of St. Mark's Church in Southwest Ranches, accompanies the Eucharistic procession during the Solemnity of Corpus Christi on June 3, around the perimeter of the parish. St. Mark's pastor, Jaime Acevedo, carries the Blessed Sacrament.
“Our people are excited about being among [thousands of] other Catholics from around the U.S., walking the streets of Indianapolis in a massive procession, and to hear from an incredible lineup of speakers and influencers,” the priest said.
Among the dozens of presenters at the congress are Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire ministries; Texas-born speaker and author Sister Josephine Garrett; Father Mike Schmitz, of Bible and Catechism in a Year fame; and Miami’s own Mother Adela Galindo, of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Pope Francis also announced that he will send Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle — the Vatican’s Pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization — as his special envoy to Indianapolis.
Father Alfaro said he hopes the music, the Masses and being around so many people will inspire enthusiasm for “truly being missionaries in our own communities.”
At St. Thomas University (STU) in Miami Gardens, Ivan Diaz, director of campus ministry and a Catholic music composer, is helping to prepare a university delegation of students, faculty and alumni to Indiana. That group will travel under the leadership of university vice president of mission, Father Rafael Capo.
“Some of these students have been very active in the liturgical life of STU in various ways, and we had a retreat with students in March with conversations of how to put your faith into action after college,” Diaz said.
“We want to make sure they put their faith into action in other parishes as they go forward in their professions,” he added, sharing that STU has been organizing a high school summer camp experience in June for more than 40 area youth as part of the Eucharistic Revival.
Diaz, who was a participant and music composer at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, also oversaw production of an official song for the July gathering in Indiana.
“This year is special for the church in America — the joy of belonging to the Catholic Church, the joy of celebrating with thousands of people in the Eucharist and becoming witnesses of Christ's love, and feeling that call and mission, and to keep spreading that love for the Eucharist,” Diaz said. “I believe that is one of the unique gifts we receive for attending the conference.”
An Archdiocesan delegation of 49 people, led by Archbishop Thomas Wenski; Miami Auxiliary Bishop Enrique Delgado; Archdiocesan Administrative Chancellor Sister Elizabeth Worley; Chancellor for Canonical Affairs Monsignor Dariusz Zielonka; and the Cabinet Secretary of Evangelization and Parish Life, Stephen Colella, among others, will attend the congress too.
Photographer: Courtesy Gustavo De La Fe
The faithful participate in a Eucharistic procession during the solemnity of Corpus Christi June 3, 2024, around the perimeter of St. Mark Parish in Southwest Ranches.
